Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1887-09-03
THE POLAR BEAR.
Habits of the Powerful Animal in It's Icy
Northern Home.

Habits of the Powerful Animal in It's Icy
Northern Home.
Sustenance of life forms the chief care
Of the Mute race of Alaska; the struggle
10 obtain food supply is the absorbing
thought through out the entire cycle of
their existence, ays the San Francisco
Chronicle Nature seems to have provided
eeetain animals peculiarly adapted to the
.hyperborean region, and eminently fitted
toRfford susten anc3 to the race which has
to Withstand the exigencies and severe
climatic changes of an arctic zone The
principal animals inhabiting the waters OF
Northwestern Alaska are the various
members of the seal family. Seal meat,
as cooked by the natives, is of a dirty
brick-red tint, owing to the fact that when
killed the seal is simply skinned, the blood
remaining in the carcass, acting
as a coloring matter to the meat
To unaccustomed stom achs seal meat is
unpa latable, its taste resembling fish
more than flesh, while the oily odor is OF
course prevalent. But if when newly
caught seal is bled and the flesh allowed
to soak for few hours the meat, either
fried or baked, becomes palatable. When
frozen there is scarcely any flavor percept
ible in the meat.
Ursus Americanus, or the white polar
bear, is also food supplier for the Mutes
The extent of ruins travels in the Arctic
region are far and wide. Observations by
Captain Healy, of the United States revenue
marine,p prove the fact that the polar bears
southern limit of range is st. Matthew
Island in the Behring sea. 1 believe thai
few of tn ese bears were seen some years
ago near the Seal islands. Probably the
season was a late one, and they were seen
upon a large ice foe drifting. At st.
Matthew the polar bears have lairs and
dens among the rocky glens hat
diversity that island. There, it is pre-
sumed, the young bears are born, or at
least proportion of the cubs. The Poi nj
Belle her natives told me that in December,
when the sun goes away entirely, the she
bears make a snow house out upon the
sea ice and there give birth to heir young
There is some evidence of the truth in
this statement, as it is rare thing to OBJ
tam the skin of female bear shot during
the winter The Ursus Americanus feeds
upon seal and walrus and dead drift
yhales; although disdaining to devour
axe bluhbeaA the flesh is greedily consum
49, A carcass upon which bear has
passed his gastronomic judgment reveals
the skin and it's fatty lining torn assunder.
while the flesh is cut up into strips and
shreds by the powerful claws and teeth.
One single blow of BEARS claws alight-
ing upon a seals head suffices to kill him,
and dragged upon the ice, a meal is soon
dispatched.
The largest white bear | ever saw was
shot in November, 1885 His measure
ments were II feet inches from tip OF
I tail to nose, 6 feet inches girth, 10 inches
across from ear to ear, and finch skull,
while the track of his paws measured IL "A
inches. Generally the average measure
ment is feet in length. In summer the
hairy coat of the polar bear turns to q
dingy yellow, and its pelt then becomes
useless. These bears are arrant towards,
and will not attack any one unless there
are two or three in company. As soon as
| they scent a man approaching they run
away as fast as they can. There are but
| few records of a bear killing any
native along the northwestern coast.
The Mutes are very partial to white
pear meat, but the blubber
thev reject, and even the dogs, un-
less they are very hungry, turn up their
noses at the oily mass. 1t is almost an
impossibility to obtain an entire skin OF
anv kind of bear The MuteS throughout
the territory cut off the head and claws
and either throw them into the sea or run
ming water or else bury them in the
ground. This is done to enable the hunter
to kill more bears, and the idea is that il
the other bears see the heads or claws
of their dead friends they will leave the
/ district.
Brown bears frequent the mountainous
regions of the Arctic coast. They follow
the herds Of deer in their summer migra-
tions, but are seldom seen in the winter,
that season being the alternating period.
Their pelts are disposed of to the traders
/ and whalers San Francisco Chronicle